code lyoko: the respite of winter part 1
by James Dunbar
Summary: A light romance fanfiction between Jeremy and Aelita, set in the time between code lyoko and code lyoko evolution.
1. Chapter 1

Snow lightly falls outside my window. I look up from up from my computer screen and smile. "I can't believe my parents are letting Aelita come stay with us for the vacation!" i say excitedly to myself.

There's a knock on my door. I stand and quickly shuffle to answer. I see Aelita standing there in a nice light pink dress. I blush brightly, just like i normally do when i see her. She smiles as she enters the room. Down the hall, Odd and Ulrich can be heard cheering about some nonsensical event that just recently occurred. Either way, my attention belongs solely to Aelita in this moment. She seems to be blushing as well. "Jeremy, are you all packed?" she asks.

I look at my bag and nod. She smiles and gently takes my hand. We look into each other's eyes for a moment and i slowly lean in and kiss her. She pauses momentarily then kisses back, blushing bright as she does. We hold each other's hands until i receive a phone call.

On the other end of the line is my father. He says that he and my mother are waiting for us out front of the school. After we get off the phone, i stand up and offer my hand to Aelita. She takes it and i help her stand up. I pick up my bag and put it on my back, then pick up her things and carry them for her out to the car.

I set her bag down and open the door for her. "She giggles and says,"such a kind gentlemen you raised, mr. and mrs. Belpois. How are you both?"

I close the door behind her. As i quickly put our things in the trunk of the car, i hear a muffled conversation. I think to myself, "please don't let my parents be telling embarrassing stories of my childhood. Anything but that."

I get in the car and buckle up. To my surprise, my parents are actually asking Aelita questions about her. The question i walked into was from my father,"are you and our son dating?"

Aelita looks at me as if to ask me for the answer. I gently take her hand in my own and nod. She smiles and nods at my father, who smiles. The car ride is quiet, and my new girlfriend and i just look into each other's eyes. Only two things were ever said the entire time in the car. The first was from me. I whispered softly on her ear, "Aelita, there's something i've meant to tell you since we first met. I love you. I love you with all my heart, and i always will."

She blushes bright as i tell her i love her. The second thing comes from her. She struggles to speak, but eventually finds words. She stammers, "J-Jeremy, I-I l-love y-you t-too. I-I've never f-felt this w-way b-before. I-I'm scared, but I-I know you won't hurt me."

We hold hands the entire car ride, and as we finally arrive at the house, i quickly get out of the car and open Aelita's door for her. She smiles and kisses my cheek. She starts to go grab her bag but i tell her to just head in, and that i would grab it. She nods and smiles, then walks to the front door with my parents. I grab our bags and head inside.

Inside, the christmas tree is already set up, and there are presents under it. I take a small box out of my bag and put it with the other gifts. The tag on it says 'to Aelita, from Jeremy'. I see that Aelita is doing the same with a slightly larger box. We smile at one another and kiss softly.


	2. Chapter 2

About an hour later, Dinner is ready. We walk into the dining room, and sit at the table. Aelita looks at the plate in front of her, and her eyes widen. She smiles brightly, as if it was the best thing in the world. Oh wait, that's right. All she has ever had to eat for the past twelve years is the food of the cafeteria. I look at my plate and see the steak, steamed vegetables, and buttered noodles. I smile brightly, remembering how wonderful my mother always was at cooking.

We dig into our food. Aelita smiles brightly again and says cheerfully, "this is the best food i've ever had. The school's food is nowhere near this!"

My parents look confused as if they're putting together that she was on Lyoko for twelve years. My mom speaks up and asks, "you… aren't related to Franz Hopper, are you?"

Aelita turns pale, but I remain calm and nod my head. She looks shocked that i just confessed her secret to someone out of our group, but I simply smile at her. I look at my mom, and she says, "you look just like his wife. Is he your father?"

I take Aelita's hand and reassure her that it's okay. I assure her that my parents will never hurt her or report her to anyone. She smiles and nods. She cautiously tells them, "y-yes. Franz Hopper is my father. Did you… Know him?"

My father says something that surprises me. He says to Aelita, "he was our teacher when we attended Kadic Academy. That man had a heart of gold and loved you with all his heart. He kept a picture of you on his desk. We asked him to bring you to the school once but he said it was a bad idea. I'm glad we finally got the chance to meet you after so long."

We all eat dinner with a sense of happiness and being a family. After the meal, Aelita and i do the dishes. Once the dishes are done, i go pick up our bags and carry them to my room. When we get to the door of the room, there is a note on it. The note reads that they trust us not to do anything, so the door may remain closed. I smile faintly and open the door. Aelita closes the door behind her and i set our bags down. "Jeremy, could you turn around quickly?" is the first thing i hear her say.

I immediately know why. Without a word, I turn around. About three minutes later she taps my shoulder and I turn around. She is wearing one of my shirts as a nightgown. She and I kiss and smile as we look into each other's eyes. We both blush bright. She suggests we just go to bed. We climb in bed together and hold each other close that night. Tomorrow is christmas eve.


	3. Chapter 3

I haven't slept so comfortably in so long. I awaken to Aelita sleeping calmly for the first time in a long time. I kiss her forehead and carefully get out of bed. I head out the door and down stairs toward the kitchen. Once there, I cook a couple of omelets for her and head back upstairs with them on a plate, which is on a tray. I gently wake her up and set the food down in front of her. "Morning, Aelita. I hope my cooking is as good as my mom's." I say with a smile.

She takes a bite of the food and immediately smiles brightly. She exclaims that it's amazing, and she loves it. I smile faintly and blush. She eats the food quickly then gets out of bed. She asks me to leave the room. I instantly understand and walk out with a smile. I walk down to the living room and sit on the couch.

Five minutes later, Aelita comes downstairs, a smile on her face. My parents are right behind her. My father notices that it smells like food has been cooking. He asks if i cooked for Aelita. I simply nod, and as she sits next to me, i put my arm around her. She kisses my cheek and rests her head on my shoulder.

Then it begins. The million questions from my parents. The first one is, "was Franz Hopper really as crazy as we thought he was? He was always saying that the government was going to come for him one day."

Aelita shakes her head and explains about the Super Computer. My jaw drops at how much trust she is putting into people she just met only yesterday. She explains to them about Lyoko, and X.A.N.A. She tells them about Ulrich, Yumi, Odd, and William, and how she met all of us after waking up after being asleep the entire time the super computer was off.

My parents watch and listen to these things, both shocked and impressed. They look at each other and smile. My mother tells Aelita that she is always welcome in our home, and that she is sorry for everything that has happened to her. My father looks at me and instructs me to 'always treat this lady right, as she has been through enough.'

I smile and sigh a sigh of relief. "So you aren't going to withdraw me from Kadic, then?" I ask.

My parents shake their heads. My father replies, "Nope, we all have skeletons in our closets, son. There are things you don't know about us, even. Maybe one day we can sit down and we'll tell you about them, but not yet. It's Christmas Eve."

Aelita and i both smile and hold hands. My parents look at us and smile as well. I look outside. It's snowing rather hard at this point. I go pick up my coat and ask for twenty dollars. As my father hands me the money, he ask me if i plan on going out into the storm. I nod and head for the door. "I'm going too, Jeremy. I don't want you to get hurt. You mean too much to me." it's Aelita speaking.

I nod and wait for her to get her coat. Once she is ready, we head out the door. I gently take her by her hand and walk with her down the walkway.

We walk down the street to the store. I call my dad and ask him what he and mom want to drink. They tell me and we hang up. I get their drinks and ask Aelita what she wants. She picks out an energy drink and we take our things to the cashier. I pay for everything and we walk home with it all in a bag.

As we arrive, the snow starts falling to the point where it becomes a blizzard. We quickly enter the house and kick the snow off our boots. I hand my parents their drinks and head up to my bedroom with Aelita. We cuddle under the blanket as we drink our drinks.

My parents walk in and say they'll be back, and that an old friend of theirs needs help for a while. They close the door and i hear the front door close. The car engine starts and they drive away. I cant remember what happened after that, but i remember Aelita and i were happy that we finally had a chance to be alone.


	4. Chapter 4

I awaken about two hours later. My initial thought is, _what did we just do?_ I look next to me and see her under the covers but her shoulders are bare. I blush bright and have a miniature panic attack. I have a hard time breathing until Aelita cuddles up to me in her sleep.

I hold her close and kiss her forehead. She wakes up slowly and smiles. We get dressed and kiss. I step over to the window and see that the snow is blocking the door. "Oh, great. We're stuck inside while my parents are stuck outside." I sigh.

I look at Aelita and she just smiles. We go down stairs and sit on the couch. I hold her hand and she reassures me that my parents are okay. I take my phone out and call my dad. When he doesn't answer, I call my mom. She doesn't answer either.

I turn to Aelita and tell her I have to go find them. I think for a moment then exclaim, "I know exactly where they went! They went to John's!"

I devise a plan to get out of house. I map out the route they normally take to go to John's house. I grab the only snow shovel we have, and kiss Aelita. "I'll be back as quick as possible." i reassure her.

She smiles and nods. I climb out a window and shovel my way out off the property. I eventually make my way down the street and see our car crashed on the side. It's nothing serious, but i make my way over to see if i can help. I see my parents inside. The door easily opens, so i drag my parents out, starting with my father. My mother wakes up as i pull her from the car. "Jeremy? What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be home with Aelita?" she asks.

I reply by telling her i had a bad feeling so i had to come looking for them. I help her and my father walk back home. As we reach the house, Aelita has already made the door accessible. I help them through the door and to the couch.

The fall asleep as they sit on the couch. I gently take Aelita's hand and lead her upstairs so my parents can rest. As we into the room, I check the clock. "7:30 pm." I read aloud.

Se get ready for bed, this time a little more comfortable changing in front of one another. Once ready, we climb in bed and cuddle close together. Tomorrow is Christmas Day.


End file.
